Dovetails in tapered joints

Not sure how to explain this, so bear with me. I was admiring a walnut
letter tray on abpw and wood like to make one with the sides sloping
outward and with dovetails cut on an Incra. Is that possible? I don't
understand the geometry of dovetails that intimately to visualize if it
is doable. The picture of the letter tray appears to depict sloping
sides with box joints. If that's the only practical way to do it, then
that would be fine too.
Please cut me some slack if I'm not explaining my question adequately,
as I don't always know the proper terms.
dave

What's with the spell checker Dave ?
Also I think your talking "compound dovetails"
Some will call these " hopper box joints"
That's what SOME people call them. Everyone has a different term for them.
It CAN be done with the Incra setup, but there be some heavy thinkin going
on to do it.
I just finished a baseboard job today. NOTHING in the room was square or
true ! So what else is new?
Think about the angles for a few days, and a dream will make it come true.

the spell checker catches most of my mistakes; did it let one slip
through? Actually, I do dream about woodworking, some nights. :)
I was thinking of cutting the ends of the boards at the desired angle so
that they would be sloped, then build a beveled spacer to put on the
right angle fixture of the Incra Twin Linear. That way the wood would
be both tilted and skewed as it is run through the dovetail bit. And
even with all that newbie thinking, I've not been able to visualize if
the pieces can be slid together!
dave
FOW wrote:

One way would be to make the walls thick enough so you can join them
with conventional dovetails, then saw them with a tilted blade. That
avoids the geometry problem, but might not end up with the most
attractive possible dovetails.
I know this is a copout so you don't need to say that.
Rodney Myrvaagnes NYC J36 Gjo/a
The sound of a Great Blue Heron's wingbeats going by your head

Rod,
Thanks for the link. I reviewed each style and found that what I had in
mind is the compound angle, or hopper joint. After viewing the picture
of the sample, I think that I should make the letter tray with straight
sides. It just doesn't look suitable, or maybe it doesn't look right
because the sample is so deep. I'll try to bring up some pictures on
the web or look in a office supply catalog so I can decide if I want to
go with sloping sides.
dave
Rodney Myrvaagnes wrote:

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